Arch-supporting shoe.



PATENTED APR.16, 1907.

H. 0 WEL'GH.

ARCH SUPPORTING SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.11,1906.

--.IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII."IY\\ 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARCH-SUPPORTING SHOE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 16, 1907.

Application filed April 11,1906. Serial Hc- 311,090.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HEZEKIAH C. VVELCH,

. of Haverhill, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Arch-Supporting Shoes, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to a form of shoe which is especially designedfor use bypersons having what is known as flat foot or weak or broken-down arches. For the relief of persons thus afiiicted it is customary to provide a stiff metal plate in the bottom of their shoes, which generally extends the length of the shank and upagainst the arch. These plates are objectionable for various reasons.

stiffened 1n the shank by the ordinary shank- The shoes which must be worn when these plates are used must be of a larger size than those which would otherwise be worn on account of the space taken up by the plate. They are expensive and very'materially increase the weight of the shoe. They are practically unsuitable in cases where there is 0111. a comparatively slight tendency for the arch to break down or where but little pressure upon the arch is necessary to keep it in place, for the reason that they are stiff and unyielding and cause much discomfort to the wearer.

The object of my invention is to provide a form of shoe which will afford a yielding su port for the arch of the foot and perform su stantially all the useful functions of the archsupporting plates now commonly employed without discomfort to the wearer,which may fit the foot as perfectly as if such support were not present, which will cost but little more to manufacture than an ordinary shoe and will not appreciably increase its weight, and which will be especially suitable for those having merely weak arches or incipient cases of flat foot.

I accomplish this object by providing the shoe with a counter which extends forwardly on the inner sidefof the foot over the shank to or nearly, to the ball, said counter being reinforced by a spring which is molded with the counter in a shape which corresponds to the arch of a normal foot and is held so that a yielding support is provided for the arch of the foot which presses it upwardly and in wardly into its normal form in case it tends to become displaced.

For an understanding of my invention reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aside elevation, partly broken away, of a shoe provided with my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 3 3 of-Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspecreinforcing-spring. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the counter.

Inasmuch as the outward appearance of a shoe provided withmy invention is the same as that of any ordinary shoe, only such parts of the shoe are shown as are deemed necessary to illustrate my invention.

The bottom a of the shoe is designed to be piece or other wellknown means, sald shank being suitably raised or curved to afford a suitable support for the portion of the shank of the foot which bears directly on the shoe bottom.

My invention has special reference to the form of counter b illustrated. This counter is provided with an outer section b, which is of the same shape as that of an ordinary shoe-counter. The inner section b of the counter is, however, extended forwardly approximately twice as far as the section 1) past the shank or arch of the foot to or nearl to the ball. The front end of the section 2 is tapered down to the sole, and the skived lower edge of thecounter is secured to the inner sole between the upper and lining in the usual manner. A pocket b is formed in the counter by splitting the same from a point adjacent its lower edge upwardly, form ing a flap b, and a reinforcing-spring c, of the same shape as said counter, is secured in said pocket, with its lower edge as close to the solea as practicable.

inner section 0 0 each section being some-.

of the counter in which it is located, so that the ends of the spring both terminate a short distance from the ends of the counter. The outer section 0 and the rear portion 0 of the inner section of said spring are preferably of approximately the same Width, while the front portion 0 of the inner section is approximately twice the width of the section c, as illustrated 1n Flg. 5 and in dotted outline in tive view, and Fig. 6 is a plan view, of the The outer section 0 of sald spring 0 is of about half the length of the what shorter than the corresponding section ward from the edge of the sole in a curve.

a c is securely held in a fixed position by the fective support is thus proyidedagaihst any -lower edge is held closet'o the sole or point Fig. 1. Said springc is preferably of steel I which is slightly tempered, so that it will act as a spring, and is also capable of being molded into the desired shape. I I

In practice the spring is died out of flat sheet-steel and then is placed inthe pocket I) of the counter, and the flap 1) on its inner side is cemented down oyer the s"r ing,,so that the latter is securely held therein. The counter, with spring c therein, is then molded in a counter-molding Ill EtChlhG SO that the counter and plate are molded into the shape shown in practically one operation. This molding operation is performed just asv the cement is ready to set and .while the counter isrnterrijier. l

The front portion 0 of the sprin is molded or shaped so that it is transverse y concave on itsinner side and is twisted or set with reference to the plane position ofits heel portion 0 c so that, it extends obliquely up- Said ortion c is also curved so that it is longitu in'ally conyex on its inner side and approximately follows the curve of the edge of the sole at the shank, as shown in Figs. 2, 6, and 7, The portion of the inner counter-section b above the sole has the same shape as the frontportion c of the spring, except that it extends upwardly and forwardly in the same general direction beyond the edges of the spring. This shape of sectionv b corresponds as nearly as practicable to theshape of the arch of a normal foot, and said section is so heldby its inherent stiffness and by the reinforcing-spring c that when the foot is in the shoe it will fit against the inner side thereof over the entire arch to the ball and from the sole upward. ,As the spring extends about the heel and its heel portion a counter and as the counter has a strong tend ency to r tain the shape into which it has been molded and is held in this shape by the spring'and by the stitches which secure it to ing ertical and horizontal support is provided for the arch of the foot that is, an eftendency to crowd the arch down or out on the inner side of the foot; said support tending to press the arch upwardly and inwardly.

The principal support for the arch-support. ingportion of the spring and counter is the heel portion of the spring, W ich isfir'mly held lnplace by reason "of the fact that its Where the, counter is sewed thereto. The pressure of the heel of the wearer against said portion also tends to resist the tendency which downward pressure on the arch-supporting portion would have to swing forwardlysaid heel portion. A spring of considerable length is thus provided between-the portion of said spring 0 which is most firmly held the, portion where the greatest strain is placed thereon, so that the strain on the sprlng is well distributed, reducing the liability of its becoming weakened or broken .to a In this way the necessity of uslng a spring-too stiff to be comfortable is also avoided. As the spring is much narrower than the counter about the heel portion and it is wholly located in the lower half,

or belrwt the inwardly-extending portion thereof, lt vdoes hot in theleast detract fromthe flexibilty of the counter those portions in countern'eeds to be, flexible in order that it may be comfortable. Obviously excess stiffening the upper part, of the counter will cause much discomfort. I transversel extending the arch-saga ing portion of ,the spring the transverse malignration of the corresponding portion 6 of the counter is'rhaihtained, so thatsaid portion is at all timesheld to fit closely against practically the entire surface of the arch of the foot, distributing the pressure thereon evenly and preventing excessive pressure thereon at any point, as would soon occur if the spring wereharrow at this point, so that the leather could yield. As the counter-section b is not held rigidly in this position, but is capable of yielding to some extent, the support thus provided, is not uncomfortable to the wearer,

as it otherwise would be; but in the rnore advanced stages of a case of broken-down archor flat foot it tends gradually to restore the parts tothe normal condition, while in cases of simple weakness, of the muscles at this point this support relieves the strain thereon, and incipient cases of fiat foot it pret ents advancement of the trouble.- In many instances a support of this sort is only needed on occasions; but as this support is not, a cause of discomfort under ordinary conditions a shoe provided with my invention is Well adapted for constant Wear, even though an arch-sup ort isneeded only occasionally. The lower e 'ge portion of thefcounter is also molded to conform to the curve of the sole at the shank, so that said edge portion may be readily stitched to the sole, and thelower side portion of said spring is correspondingly fthe countenthe increase in the "cost 'of constructing a shoe provided with my inveriti'on as compared with an ordinary shoe is immaterial. I I V While a counter of leather only, formed in theshape shown, would be effective to an extent in accomplishing the purposes of my in; vention, its effectiveness would to a great extent bel'ost after the shoe had been worn for a short time ifit were subjected to rnuch .strain, as the leather would lose its stiffness and become pressed out otthe shape which it was molded. V The reinfor'c1ng spring, however, will maintain its shape 1ntion extending outwardly and upwardlyfrom' the sole 1n position to provide a vertical and (lGfiIllBBlY'fiIld will therefore prevent the counter from becoming misshaped, besides very materially stren tnening the counter.

- Having thus descri ed my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An arch-supporting shoe having a counter, a spring-metal strip having a heel portion, corresponding in shape to the; counter and firmly secured thereto, and having an arch-supporting portion extending forwardly adjacent the shank on the inner side of the shoe adapted to be held in yielding engagement with the arch of the foot by said heel portion, substantially as described.

2.. An arch supporting shoe having a horizontal support for the arch of the foot,

and a correspondingly-shaped reinforcing.

spring connected to said counter'for yieldingly holding said support in position, substantially as described. p

4. An arch-supporting shoe having a counter, the inner side section of which extends forwardly over the shank, said extended portion extending outwardly and upwardly from the sole to providea vertical and horizontal arch-supporting portion, a spring extending longitudinally of the shoe and rigidly held at its rear end by the heel portion of the counter, said spring having a relatively broad reinforcing-plate at its front end shaped to correspond to the supporting portion of the counter and connected thereto to maintain the transverse shape thereof and hold the same in yielding engagement with the arch of the foot, substantially as described.

5. An arch-supporting shoe having a counter and a spring-metal strip firmly secured thereto and extending about the heel and forwardly adjacent the shank portion of the shoe on its inner side with its lower edge closely adjacent the sole, the heel portion of the strip being relatively-narrow and so disposed that the main portion of the heel portion of the counter extends thereabove, and

the shank portion of the strip extending outwardly and upwardly from the sole to support the arch of the foot, substantially as described. 1

6. An arch-supporting shoe having a counter and a spring-metal strip firmly secured thereto and extending about. the heel forwardly adjacent the shank portion of the shoe on its inner side with its lower edge closely adjacent the'sole, the heel portion of the strip being relatively narrow so that the main portion of the heel portion of the counter extends thereabove, and the shank portion of the strip extending outwardly and: upwardly from the sole to support the arch of the foot and being of materially greater width than the heel portion, substantially as described.

7. An arch-supporting shoe provided with a counter having the inner side section thereof extending over the shank portion of the sole and outwardly and upwardly from said shank ortion, in position to provide a vertical an horizontal arch-supporting portion, a

relatively narrow strip of spring metal of corresponding shape embedded in said counter an having a ortion extending about the heel and forwardly to a point adjacent the front inner end of the counter, said heel portion of said strip being rigidly held and ada ted to act as a support to hold the forwardl extended portion thereof and of the counter in. yielding engagement with the arch of the foot, said forwardly-extended portion of said strip being extended transversely to maintain the transverse shape of the correspond.

ing counter scribed.

8. A shoe-counter having its inner side section extended beyond its outer side section to provide an arch-engaging portion, a sheet-metal, spring extending longitudinally of the counter about the. heel portion and portion, substantially as deforwardly along the arch-engaging portion thereof, said spring being secured to. the

counter throughout its length, and the forwardly-extending portion thereof being obliquely disposed to its heel portion to permit said heel portion yieldingly to resist downward and outward force on its forwardly-extending portion and on the arch-engagingportion of the counter, substantially as described.

9. A shoe-counter having its inner side sec tion extended to provide an arch-supporting portion, said extended portion being shaped and disposed to fit against the arch of the foot, and a sheetmetal spring extending aproximate'ly the entire length of the counter, firmly secured thereto, and shaped to correspond to the shape of the corresponding portrons of the counter which it engages, the heel portion of said spring being relatively narrow with relation to the counter, and located adjacent the lower edge thereof, substantially as described.

10. A shoe-counter having its inner side section extended to provide an arch-supporting portion, said extended portion being shaped and disposed to .fit against the arch of the foot, and a sheet-metal spring extending approximately the entire length of the counter, firmly secured thereto, and shaped to correspond to the shape of the corresponding portions of the counter which it engages, the heel portion of said spring being relatively narrow with relation to the counter, and the 'j forwardly-extended portion of said spring being extended transversely to greater width. than its heel portion to maintain the transverse configuration of the corresponding portion of the counter, substantially as described.

11. A shoe-counter having its inner side section extended beyond its outer side section to provide an arch-engaging portion, a sheet-metal spring extending longitudinally of the counter from the heel portion forseesaz wardly along the arch-engaging portion thereof, said s ring being secured to the counter 'throug out its length, and the forwardly-extending portion thereof being disposed to permit its heel portion yieldingly to resist downward and outward force on its forwardly-extending portion and the archengaging portion of the counter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HEZEKIAH C. WELSH.

Witnessesz. v 7

'L. H. HARRIMAN, CYNTHIA DOYLE. 

